Actress’s Notebook

I’m moving house, parting ways with my beloved friend Georgia. For eight years, the two of us have laughed madly, danced wildly and cried horribly. But life moves on and so must we. Boxing, labelling and filing items is not in my nature, which makes Operation Declutter rather difficult. Instead, I sit amid a sea of bin liners stuffed with objects that share stories from the past year: sentimental letters, family photos, dog-eared books, plays and endless diaries reminding me of good days, and bad ones. It has been a year full of opportunities, of challenges approached and the occasional disaster. I’m living and (hopefully) learning.

I have just finished working with a wonderful cast and crew on a ITV drama, whose name I cannot yet reveal. There were 5 a.m. wake-up calls and I shared the car journeys to and from set with the lovely Amanda Burton; I would ask her endless questions with a coffee in one hand and script in the other. Lunch breaks were spent on a bus with Freddie Fox and Mark Stanley, who made me laugh until my face hurt. Before filming starts you never know who you’re going to be sharing these moments with: I’ve been so lucky with the friends I have made. At the wrap party, I celebrate by downing tequila and dancing to the Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’, trying to swing my hips like Freddie, but I don’t have the same rhythmic flow. It’s sad saying goodbye to so many kindred spirits.

Morning dawns. With a hangover from hell, I run to a class led by the acting coach Gary Condes. He is strict on late arrivals and attendance and I make it, by the skin of my teeth. Phew. My scene is first up.